The Islamic Revolution Approach

The Islamic Revolution Approach

Foundations of State Civil Responsibility in the Legal Systems of Iran and the United States

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ghasem Fallah Saei 1
Mohammad Bahmani 2
Bakhtiar Abasloo 1
Sadegh Salimi 1
1 Department of Private Law, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Private Law, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran-Iran
Abstract
The civil responsibility of the state is one of the key topics in public law that examines the principles and rules for compensating damages resulting from the actions or omissions of the state. In the legal system of Iran, this responsibility is defined based on civil laws and the Civil Liability Act (approved in 1960). In contrast, the legal system of the United States operates under the principle of sovereign immunity and provides a limited framework for lawsuits against the government through the “Federal Tort Claims Act.” This research compares these two systems through a case study of Huawei’s case, which is related to violations of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. The Huawei case exemplifies the conflict between domestic law and international law; the United States views sanctions as a legitimate tool for foreign policy, whereas Iran perceives these actions as violations of national sovereignty and free trade. The research question investigates the differences in the foundations of state civil responsibility in these two legal systems and their impact on international interactions. The hypothesis is that state civil responsibility in Iran is based on codified laws and is absolute in certain cases, whereas in the United States, it is limited to specific conditions under the aforementioned law. Using a comparative analysis method, the results indicate that the differences in these approaches significantly affect international lawsuits and the rights of individuals, with the Huawei case serving as a prominent example of these impacts.
Keywords
State civil responsibility, sovereign immunity, Huawei case, economic sanctions, legal systems of Iran and the United States
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